For many people, 2020 has been stressful, draining and downright terrifying. The coronavirus has impacted our lives dramatically. Some days, succeeding in business and in life feels like an uphill battle. But battles were made to be won, and we can help with that. Let Inside Self-Storage (ISS) arm you with the resources you need to reach the peak!
The goal of the upcoming ISS Virtual Event, Sept. 29-30, is to help industry owners, managers, investors, developers and suppliers excel in today’s complex environment. This free online conference and tradeshow will provide everything you’ve come to expect from an ISS World Expo, just in a new format. There’s no need to guess your next strategic maneuver—get all the intel and tactics you need in this interactive, user-friendly digital experience.
Survey the Scene
The event’s virtual format will allow you to enjoy superior education, exhibits and networking opportunities—all from a place of your choosing. No special training required! Once registered, you’ll find it easy to plot your course for learning and connect with others in the environment. You’ll be able to move freely through the digital landscape, which can be accessed from any Internet-connected device.
Once you’re logged in, you’ll enter a main lobby where you can watch a welcome video and get the lay of the land. From there, you’ll have the option to visit the following “rooms”:
- Education Theater: Offering live and prerecorded sessions including a keynote address, 12 seminars, an expert panel discussion and four open-forum Q&A discussions
- Exhibit Hall: Featuring two dozen of the industry’s leading product and service suppliers
- Resource Center: Where you can download education materials including digital issues, articles, whitepapers, case studies, copies of the seminar PowerPoint slides and more
- New-Product Tour: Showcasing the industry’s latest innovations
- Networking Lounge: A place to gather and socialize via chat with speakers, experts and peers; scheduled chats on specific topics will also be available
- ISS Store: Offering a wide variety of industry-relevant education products and business tools, including videos, books, reports and more
- Help Desk: Where live agents will also be available 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern to assist with questions or technical difficulties
For detailed explanations of all the platform rooms and features, see the “ISS Virtual Event Preview” published in last month’s issue, or visit issworldexpo.com/virtual. Be sure to make use of your Digital Briefcase, where you can store all the items downloaded from the various locations above.
Gather Intelligence
Gathering intel is the secret behind any successful mission, which is why education is such a strong component of the ISS Virtual Event. The program kicks off on Sept. 29 with a special keynote presentation, “Self-Storage in a Time of Pandemic: Industry Impact and Survival Strategies.” RK Kliebenstein, author of the popular “How to Make Money in Self-Storage” book series, will discuss how the coronavirus has affected our business, segment by segment, and offer guidance on how professionals can adapt and prevail.
The informative sessions that follow over the course of the two-day agenda offer focused content in the areas of self-storage building, customer experience, innovation, investing, leadership and operation. Each is designed to help you overcome the business challenges you face right now and others likely to emerge in the year ahead. You’ll learn:
- How the recession could impact the storage industry and your business, plus how to position yourself to take advantage of market opportunities
- Strategies to thrive in a saturated market, including how to identify and promote your company’s valuable points of differentiation
- Smart technology that can give your business a competitive edge, save money and enhance the customer experience
- How to your project approved even when the odds are against it, plus how to find hidden development opportunities
- How to create a competitive manager-compensation package that’ll lure top talent and help you retain staff
- Ways to optimize your online rentals, including specific techniques for improving the user experience
- Why you should regularly audit your business, an overview of the process, red flags to watch for and what to do when problems are unearthed
- Strategies to save money and reduce risk when developing a new site, and some common building-design myths
- Timelines, checklists and strategies to help you open a new facility the right way, even during the pandemic
- How to convert more leads to customers through seven specific strategies that’ll help you close the deal every time
- Intel on buying and selling storage in the COVID-19 era, including where we are in the real estate cycle and how it’ll impact your investment horizon
- Benefits of offering a virtual-management model, what it involves and examples of several successful sites
Join Forces
One of the best attributes of the self-storage industry is the strength of the professional community and members’ general willingness to share their knowledge and experiences with others. It’s this fine level of camaraderie, plus the ability to make beneficial, long-lasting connections, that draws people in droves to our annual ISS World Expo in Las Vegas. Everyone in the industry has felt the sting of lost opportunity this year as organizers from all sorts of self-storage organizations have been forced to cancel their events.
But hope need not be lost! Much like a live show, the ISS Virtual Event presents chances for you to network, ask questions and get answers on any industry-related topic. In addition to a platform-wide chat feature that allows attendees to interact freely, booth-specific chat tools in the exhibit hall and the Networking Lounge mentioned above, this experience gives you access to four open-forum Q&A sessions, each with a different theme and hosted by experts in the field:
- Investing & Development
- Management & Operation
- Technology & Security
- Legal (with industry attorney Jeff Greenberger)
On the morning of Sept. 30, the education program begins with an additional interactive session, “What Comes Next? A Panel Discussion of Self-Storage in a Post-COVID World.” The owners of Atomic Storage Group and other industry experts will aim to make predictions on the trajectory of the industry and what professionals can expect moving forward in the areas of facility operation, development, real estate and more.
Take a Tactical Approach
Like self-storage operators everywhere, our virtual-event sponsors and exhibitors have had to pivot in response to the health and economic crisis, embracing new tactics to thrive and better serve customers. These wizened soldiers have seen adversity in the industry before, so trust us when we say they know a few things.
Take this opportunity to leverage their expertise. Their representatives will be available in the exhibit hall on both days, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern, to share their know-how, answer your questions, demo their products and more. Through their booths, you can also watch company videos and download information resources. The environment is a terrific place to forge new partnerships that will help your business win.
Our world is changing rapidly, and we must evolve with it. Now’s not the time to retreat. Gather your forces, arm yourself with resources and knowledge, and take the top! Get event details and register at issworldexpo.com/virtual.
